Dear Sinéad, Siouxsie and Thomas:
Hi, my name is Snowflake. I heard about you guys from the cat down the street, and she said you're really smart, so I hope you can help me. You see, I'm a street cat, and a few weeks ago I sought shelter in a barn so I could have my kittens. I had three beautiful babies, two boys and a girl, and I'm just as proud as I can be of all three of them. But the kittens got goop all over their eyes and just as I was starting to get really worried about them -- they were quite old enough to open their eyes, but they couldn't because of the goop -- a nice human found us and took us all to the v*t, who gave us medicine and instructed the human on how to take care of my babies and me.

Right now, we're living in a room at the nice human's house and doing quite well ... except for my youngest, a sweet little girl who's white from tip to tail just like me. The boys are so big that they've been drinking all of my milk, and even though my daughter wants to eat, there's just not enough left for her. She sucks on my nipples anyway because she's hungry, and it hurts because I'm all dried out from feeding the boys, so I get up and walk away. The nice human has tried to give my daughter kitten replacement milk to make up for what she's missing, but she won't take the bottle. Help! I'm worried that my little girl is going to fade away and die!

Purrs and kisses,
~Snowflake

Sinéad: Snowflake, I'm so glad you found a human who was willing to help you take care of your kittens and give you a safe place to live. The streets are no place for a cat!

Siouxsie: Many cats aren't as lucky as you. That's why it's so important that humans remember to have their cats spayed or neutered. The cost of the surgery is minor compared to the cost of raising kittens, and there are lots of organizations that can help with the cost if finances are an issue.

Thomas: I'd like to personally thank your human and all the other humans who see an animal in need and respond with kindness and care.

Sinéad: Getting down to business here, there are some things your human can do to help you and your babies. First of all, you need to get food that will help you provide all the milk your kittens need. Any queen that is pregnant or nursing kittens should be fed kitten food.

Siouxsie: That's right. Kitten food has more calories and vitamins, and it helps mama cats give their babies all the nutrition they need. If mama cats don't get adequate nutrition, they can become sick themselves and therefore be unable to keep their kittens healthy.

Thomas: Humans should avoid feeding raw meat -- especially raw chicken -- to nursing cats, though. Sometimes raw meat can have bacteria in it that can harm the kittens since they don't have an immunity to it.

Sinéad: If your human needs to bottle-feed kittens, there are a couple of things that are important to know. First of all, kittens should not be fed cow's milk. It has too much fat and not enough protein, and even though it fills kittens' empty tummies it can give them diarrhea and it doesn't give them all the nutrients they need.

Siouxsie: The best thing to feed a kitten is kitten replacement milk, sold under the brand name KMR. This comes in powder form (your human would mix this with water) or in liquid form. The powder form keeps the longest.

Thomas: Goat milk is an acceptable substitute, if a veterinarian or pet store is far away, until your human can get her hands on some KMR.

Sinéad: Whichever milk formula your human uses, it should be warmed to about 75 degrees Fahrenheit and placed in a pet nurser bottle with a kitten-sized nipple. If your human can't find a pet nurser, she could use an eyedropper or a syringe without the needle attached. But the pet nurser is really the best choice because it encourages natural sucking behavior and reduces the risk that the kitten will get the milk into her lungs.

Siouxsie: Kittens weighing less than 7 ounces or so should eat about 1 tablespoon of milk at a serving. If the kitten is orphaned or the mother is refusing to feed the kitten because of mastitis or other health problems, the human will have to feed the kitten every two hours, around the clock.

Thomas: In your situation, Snowflake, where you're able to feed your kitten some milk but not enough, your human can supplement your milk by feeding 1 tablespoon or so of KMR, three times a day.

Sinéad: We know this will seem like a ridiculously tiny amount of milk to the average human, but we all know that kittens have very tiny little stomachs. And overfeeding a kitten can be just as bad as starving it.

Siouxsie: Snowflake, your human can help your little girl to accept the bottle by rubbing a damp cloth on your tummy and then rubbing that same cloth on the nursing bottle. If the bottle has your scent on it, your kitten may be more willing to drink from it.

Thomas: If your human is using powdered KMR and reconstituting it with tap water, the chemicals in the water may be causing your kitten to dislike the taste. Your human should try using bottled water instead and see if that makes a difference.

Sinéad: Humans also need to be aware how important body position is when nursing. Humans have this ridiculous tendency to nurse their babies tummy-up. And then they wonder why their babies are always burping and puking. Silly humans!

Siouxsie: We cats, on the other hand, lie on our bellies when we nurse. If your human tries to nurse your kitten while holding it tummy-up, she's going to have problems. The kitten will choke on the milk and it will be a nasty time all around.

Thomas: So, when nursing a kitten, your human should place the kitten in her lap in a belly-down position. It's okay if the kitten's head is horizontal or slightly elevated. The human will have to stick the nipple in front of the kitten's mouth and squeeze the nursing bottle a little bit to get some milk out. That will help the kitten figure out what's going on, and the kitten should begin sucking right away.

Sinéad: Don't be surprised if your human does a really sloppy job of nursing your kitten and gets milk all over the poor thing's muzzle. As long as the human doesn't get milk in her lungs or up her nose, she should be fine. But once your kitten gets used to sucking on the bottle, the procedure should become a good deal neater all around.

Siouxsie: If your human were raising orphaned kittens instead of kittens with a mama, she'd have to wipe their tummies and bottoms with a warm, damp cloth after they were finished eating. This imitates the way you clean your kittens and stimulate them to pee and poop after meals. Your human might even have to do this with your kitten if you forget to clean her up after your human feeds her.

Thomas: It should go without saying that any human raising orphaned kittens should do so under the guidance of a veterinarian. Orphaned kittens have very special health and nutrition needs, and in order for a human to take proper care of them, a vet should be closely involved.

Sinéad: And of course, if what we tell you is different from what your vet tells you, always take your vet's advice. Your vet has helped a lot more orphaned kittens than we have, and he or she will definitely have the best instructions about feeding schedules and how much to feed.

Siouxsie: Good luck, Snowflake, and our best wishes to you and your kittens.

Thomas: And speaking of kittens, we're delighted to report that Grammie's foster cat, Rosabelle (whom we mentioned here), gave birth to three lovely kittens on the 13th of June, just a few days after we wrote about her. All three kittens are doing quite well; they're starting to open their eyes now, and proud mama Rosabelle is doing a fine job of taking care of them. Mama says two of the babies have huge front paws with seven toes each!

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail us at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the material in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.